PLAIN FOLK

By Les Pearson
Will Traditional Christian Carols Vanish from the Malls?

In a pluralistic Canadian society, this is a serious question! Are merchants being sensitive to cultural differences when they play traditional Christian songs over their loudspeakers two months of the year? Is this music offensive to non-Christians?

Can there be any merit in universal exposure to this most-Christian music?

When my spouse’s Christmas recordings make their annual epiphany, she considerately waits until I vacate the premises before she blares the songs. I detest the kitschy, commercial, recordings by every singing star under the Christmas sky. (This is personal preference and nothing to do with my faith.)

Nor is this a judgment on all Christmas music! Let me remind you that traditional Christmas carols have multicultural origins. It’s true! Many traditional carols are a bigger mixed bag than Santa’s pouch.

The International Book of Christmas Carols, originally published by Prentice-Hall in 1963, best describes the history of this special traditional folk music. Here are some highlights.

From the first celebration of Christ’s birthday in the second century, Christmas carols have been a blend of the sacred and profane. The very word “carol” derives from a secular pagan circle dance.

Like most early sacred songs, carols were probably first sung to the same tunes as Jewish temple psalms. From the earliest days of the Roman church, Gloria in Excelsis Deo—the angels’ song—was associated with the Christmas mass. Later, Saint Ambrose composed Veni Redemptor (Come, Redeemer). These carols are still with us.

It was Francis of Assis who brought carols into formal Christmas worship services. In 1223 Francis was a monk in Grecchio, Umbria. To make Christ’s birth more meaningful to his unlettered congregation, Francis created an outdoor manger scene or tableau and celebrated a midnight Mass. Other friars joined the celebration by composing and singing lively new songs. Today we would recognize them as characteristically joyful carols.

Many of these songs were not written down, but passed from generation to generation like all traditional music. It took Luther, Bach, and the Protestant Reformation to make carols truly the music of the people. Luther’s emphasis on congregational singing meant that he and other sacred songwriters of the time often set lyrics to familiar folk tunes. This association was irreversible.

Wherever Christian influence spread, the pattern repeated. Today there is an infinite stock of unique national carols based on this model. Witness Canada’s own Huron Carol composed in Huron dialect by Father Jean de Brebeuf, but set to a French folk tune.

Carols are some of the best traditional folk songs in the Christian tradition. Music lovers—regardless of their religious beliefs—appreciate this powerful, inspirational, music.

At a time when the world is torn by strife, when there is so little to cheer us, traditional carols offer their message of hope and peace! I hope non-Christians continue to appreciate these special songs.

True understanding and good will come from sharing our best gifts. If that isn’t Christmas, what is?